Apparel hanger



July 24, 1962 H. F. MARROCCO 3,045,882

APPAREL HANGER Filed Feb. 3, 1960 Henry E Marrocco INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,045,882 APPAREL HANGER Henry F. Marrocco, 81Woodlawn Ave., Clifton, NJ.

Filed Feb. 3, 1960, Ser. No. 11,401 Claims. (Cl. 223-95) This inventionrelates to hangers and more particularly to a multipurpose apparelhanger.

An object of the invention is to provide a versatile, extensible hangercapable of being used as a support for many different types of clothing.

Briefly, the hanger constructed in accordance with the invention is madeof an elongate rather thin body with which two rods are slidablyconnected. The rods are spring-biased to an extended position and areadapted to be withdrawn when the apparel is engaged with the grippers atthe ends of the rods. The withdrawal force of the rods is transmitted tothe spring or springs connected indirectly to the rods to provideyielding opposition to movement in one direction of each of the rods.

Another object of the invention is to provide a structurally improvedhanger capable of long and satisfactory service.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a hanger constructed in accordancewith the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fargmentary elevational view of the hanger inFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a modification of thegripper at one end of one of the rods of the hanger.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view showing another modification of thegripper.

In the accompanying drawing there is an illustration of a hanger whichexemplifies the invention. The hanger is made of an elongated body 12,preferably made of plastic, and supporting a hook 14 at the center ofthe body. The hook has a shank 16 and a hook portion 18, and the shankextends through an opening 20 in the center of body 12. The longitudinalsides of the body have outwardly opening semi-cylindrical grooves whichform guides or guide channels 22 and 24.

Two rods 26 and 28 are seated in the guides 22 and 24, and there areplates 30 and 32 attached to adjacent ends of the rods. Plate 32 isrigily secured to one end of rod 26 and has an aperture 36 through whichrod 28 is slidable. Plate 30 is rigidly secured to one end of rod 28 andhas an aperture 38 through which rod 26 slidably extends.

There are resilient means connected to the lower end of shank 16 and tothe two plates 32 and 30 to yieldingly bias the rods in one direction,i.e. outwardly of body 12. The resilient means consist preferably of apair of springs 42 and 44, although a single spring may be used. Whenboth springs 42 and 44 are used, the outer ends of the springs areengaged with plates 30 and 32, for instance by having the hooks 46 and48 at the outer ends of the two springs engaged in apertures formed inplates 32 and 30. The inner ends of the two springs have hooks 50 and 52engaged over the lower part of shank 16 to form an anchorage for thesprings. There is an upper and a lower washer 54 and 56 on the oppositesides of hooks 50 and 52, washer 54 fitting flush against the lower3,045,882 Patented July 24, 1962 ice surface of body 12 and washer 56seating on a head at the lower extremity of shank 16. There is anenlargement 60 in shank 16 above body 12 and above the two washers 62seated on the body. These washers are below the enlargement 60 so thatthey provide a bearing surface for the enlargement, enabling the hook 14to be swiveled.

Grippers 64 and 66 are at the ends of the two rods 28 and 26. Thegrippers shown in FIGURE 1 consist of flat plates having serrations 68on the outer edges thereof. These are used to engage the pants leg,skirt opening, etc. of the garment.

A modified gripper 64a is shown in FIGURE 4. This gripper is illustratedas it would appear, i.e. at the end of rod 28a. The modificationconsists of a difference in the means for securing the gripper 64a torod 28a. Gripper 64a is fitted in a slot 65 at the end of rod 28 andheld in place by friction, spot welding, riveting, etc. However, thereis a sleeve 70 at the upper edge of gripper 64a, and the sleeve isfrictionally fitted on the end of rod 28a.

Another modified gripper 64b is shown in FIGURE 5. This gripper isU-shaped, having sides 73 and 74 together with a top connecting memberin the form of a plate 75. Sleeve 76 is in plate 75 and is used forfricu'onally gripping the end of one of the rods. Gripper 64b may beused in addition to gripper 64 or gripper 64a or may be used in placethereof. Gripper 64]) provides two serrated edges for each gripper andis ideally suited for use with a pair of pants.

In use, the springs hold the rods extended. However, when the rods arebrought together manually the springs 42 and 44 are stretched to providea yielding force constantly urging the rods in an extended positionwhereby the grippers may engage the apparel and hold it firmly fastenedonto the hanger.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An apparel hanger comprising an elongate generally fiat rigid bodyhaving guide channels on the opposite sides thereof, a hook rigidlyfixed directly to said body at the center thereof to suspend the body, apair of rods disposed in said guide channels, each rod. having a platesecured at its inner end, each plate provided with an opening, the rodsslidably disposed in the openings thereby slidably connecting said rodson opposite sides of the body, and resilient means between the platesreacting on said rods and extending parallel thereto to yieldinglyoppose relative movement of said rods in one direction.

2. An apparel hanger comprising an elongate straight rigid body havingguide channels on the oppsite sides thereof, a hook rigidly fixeddirectly to said body at the center thereof between said sides andextending upwardly to suspend the body, a pair of rods slidably disposedin said guide channels, each rod having a plate secured at its innerend, each plate provided with an opening, the rods slidably disposed inthe openings thereby slidably connecting said rods on opposite sides ofthe body, and resilient means reacting on said rods to yieldingly opposerelative movement of said rods in one direction, said resilient meansincluding springs, each spring secured at one end to one of said platesand anchored at its other end to said body by being secured to said hookwhereby said spring is parallel to each rod.

3. A hanger as recited in claim 2 wherein the lower end of the hookextends through said body and is fixed 3 4 .to said spring means whichis located below the body References Cited in the file of this patentthereby preventing damage to clothing supported on the UNITED STATESPATENTS h n r.

a 1,329,877 Barclay Feb. 3, 1920 4. The subject matter of claim 3,wherein there is a gripper at the outer end of each rod, said gripperhaving 5 a gripping edge which is relatively thin in relation to the rodwhereby it may be inserted into the crease of a 1,331,419 Dahlgren Feb.17, 1920 2,612,301 Rubin Sept. 30, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS garment.

5. A hanger as recited in claim 3 wherein said rods 526,838 Belgium Mar.15, 1954 define a first plane, said hook lies in a second plane, said 10300,535 Switzerland Oct. 16, 1954 planes being perpendicular to oneanother. 1,215,366 France Nov. 16, 1959

